Chelsey A. Billy Sentenced for Hammer Attack on Navajo Man

Chelsey A. Billy, a 22-year-old Navajo woman from Standing Rock, N.M., is headed to federal prison after pleading guilty to a vicious hammer attack on a Navajo man in McKinley County. Billy was sentenced to 30 months in prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a conviction stemming from a brutal December 2015 assault that left her victim permanently scarred.

The attack occurred on December 22, 2015, on the Navajo Indian Reservation, where Billy struck the man multiple times in the head with a hammer. The victim suffered a fractured left orbital eye socket and extensive lacerations to his head and face—life-altering injuries that required immediate medical intervention. He remains traumatized, sources close to the investigation confirm.

Billy was arrested on January 7, 2016, following a criminal complaint. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on January 26, 2016, charging her with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, as well as the count to which she ultimately pleaded guilty: assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

On July 18, 2016, Billy stood before a federal judge in Albuquerque and admitted to swinging the hammer at the victim’s head repeatedly, acknowledging the severity of the harm inflicted. No motive was disclosed in court, but law enforcement sources suggest a prior personal dispute may have fueled the assault.

The case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, a force often understaffed and overburdened in handling violent crime on tribal lands. Federal jurisdiction was asserted due to the severity of the assault and the location on the reservation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle prosecuted the case, securing a sentence that includes three years of supervised release following Billy’s prison term. The outcome underscores the federal government’s continued push to enforce violent crime statutes in Indian Country, where justice is often delayed—but not always denied.